Pieces of You
by AdrianZ
Summary: ...because they are Barnman and Robin and they don't make sense without each other.
1. Chapter 1

He just got his daughter to finally fall asleep when his phone rings. The sound rips apart the air and immediately is followed by the loud wail of a very displeased child.

Walking back into the nursery, Barney groans in frustration and picks up the phone.

It's her.

He stiffens. Her voice is hoarse, deeper than usual. It's the tone she falls into whenever she tries to hide her emotions. Barney puts the phone on speaker so he can pick up Ellie, who is still screaming at the top of her lungs.

"I'm sorry Barney. I didn't mean to…I mean…it's just…I got a small problem…and I was wondering…You know what, forget it. It's fine. It's stupid. It really doesn't matter"

And he wants to hang up, he doesn't want to care and she gave him permission not to care. Why should he?

He's got a child to take care of, he doesn't need to listen to her, no matter how concerned he actually is, she is a big girl, she can handle it. But there's something about her tearstained voice that makes him doubt if she really can. He has an uneasy feeling that this time she might have messed up for real.

"No, Robin. You woke up the baby. Don't chicken out now", he says not without a bit of malice. He still can't help trying to play games or maybe he went back to playing games, hoping someday he might win again and then he won't gamble it all away.

A sniff crackles in the speaker.

"Can you bail me out of prison?"

It may have been phrased as a question, but to him it feels like a demand and for longer than he'd like to admit, he considers hanging up on her, putting his daughter back to sleep and forgetting his ex-wife exists.

Her tentative "please" is barely audible through his daughter's cries. There's so much he could throw at Robin right now, so many possibilities to get back at her and the temptation makes his skin crawl. There's no logic in this call, she has Lily and Ted and Marshall and…and really she doesn't have anyone anymore.

It's Robin Scherbatsky out in the big wide world; part of everybody's life, while nobody is part of hers. Otherwise she would have called that person, but she didn't.

She called Barney.

"Are you still there?"

He nods and keeps bouncing Ellie up and down, because that usually helps. Tonight it seems to make the crying only worse. It takes a few more moments of Robin's breathing reverberating out of the speakers before he realizes she can't see him.

"Scherbatsky, I'll be your knight in shining armour on one condition"

"Barney, don't come. I'll be…"

"Yeah, you'll be fine. I know. I know, because you are sleeping in my apartment tonight. No protesting. Take it or leave it."

He can tell she regrets this, she's uncomfortable, she wants to be in control.

He can't shake the feeling this will end up as one of those stupid nights where they couldn't keep it together, but he can't see the exit and he still needs to be sure she'll be fine.

Not happy.

Fine, which is all they can bargain for really, when they've been so reckless.

They deserve to writhe and scream in the storm they've been raising for so long.

"Alright", she says and hangs up.

That's where they are now. Him posting bail for Robin; his daughter huddled against his chest.

It looks an awful lot like an epic joke.

If he could only remember how it was supposed to go.


	2. Chapter 2

**I know it is bit sad right now, but I promise it gets better. I hope you like it and tell me whether or not you did.**

She can't sleep. It is the end of October and Barney has the heat turned up to its maximum. At least that's what it feels like.

The heat is swamping her. She kicks off the covers and then she is cold. She rolls them up and hugs them tightly with her arms and legs, but after a while her torso gets sweaty. She wraps herself in the cool, silky blanket and his smell is everywhere. The pillows are lying at the foot of the bed, where she put them because they were too slippery in her hands.

Simply opening a window did cross her mind, but she is in Barney's new apartment and she can't impose any further. Besides, she's too afraid to trigger an alarm anyways.

Robin know she crossed a line. Come to think of it, she probably crossed more than just one line, she leapt over a gigantic wall and she wants to slip out of here as soon possible and pretend this never happened. If only this had never happened.

There's so much she wishes had never happened. When she saw him standing there, with his daughter dozing in a baby sling, wearing a suit at a time most people wore pyjamas and actually pulling it off, it created that uneasy feeling in the pit off her stomach.

The feeling that someone would get hurt. Again. Because when she is involved, someone always gets hurt.

The heat is killing her. Robin rolls out of bed and slips on the shirt and pants she discarded earlier in her attempts to fall asleep. The fact that they smell and feel exactly like Barney might have had something to do with it as well. She shrugs of her discomfort, slinks to the door of the guest room and cautiously presses down the handle, pushing the door open far enough to peek into the hallway. It is dark except for a small square shaped nightlight in the wall to her right. Deciding it's safe to go on, she leaves the door open just a crack and tiptoes ahead towards the kitchen. After rummaging through the kitchen cabinets for what seems like an endless string of opportunities for Barney to catch her, she finds a glass and fills it with tap water.

When Ellie starts crying she nearly drops the glass. Then she hears her own voice coming from somewhere behind her and she nearly drops it again, splashing water onto the marble working surface.

"Hey, stranger." Barney's tone is mockingly flirtatious and smug, like he knew she was standing there all along, like he can't help but punish her ever so slightly. Robin puts the glass on the counter and turns around. He's sitting on a sofa in the dark, the only light coming from the television that's currently showing the evening news of 7th October 2020.

It's her face on the screen, talking about the food shortages in Eastern Europe and she's wearing that hideous purple blouse she's been meaning to throw out for months.

He recorded her broadcast. He recorded her broadcast and now he is watching it with his daughter cradled in his arms, sitting in his living room. A living room that is connected to his open kitchen.

"I'm on your TV screen", she says, stupidly stating the obvious. Now that she can see herself, she realizes she's never watched any of her famous broadcasts. Finally seeing one, she doesn't like the person she's seeing. The woman she sees is fake, she seems nice and friendly, she looks nice and friendly, but everything about her is dismissive and distant.

That person on the screen? That's not her. Right?

The unease creeps up inside her stomach and sends shudders down her spine. While she keeps her gaze fixed at the screen, Barney doesn't say a word. She is trapped by his scrutinizing stare, caught in a spot she doesn't want to be, unable to escape judgement. So she blatantly dashes forward.

"Barney, what is this?" she asks, an accusing undertone in her voice.

He wrinkles his forehead before he attempts to dodge her inquiry.

"Why are you driving like a maniac?"

Robin really doesn't want to have a conversation about how she ended up in jail. As a matter of fact, she doesn't want to have any conversation with Barney, not when he's there and she's here and the complicated, the messed up is piled up between them. So she mumbles a sloppy excuse before she turns the focus back to him.

"I didn't drive that fast. Everyone drives that fast on a highway. Just…stupid police officers looking to…Why am I on your TV screen?"

Barney sighs and glances down at the child in his arms.

"Your voice calms her down. Whenever she won't sleep, I put on your show and she falls asleep", he says and she can tell he's telling the truth. He's telling the truth like he promised he would. Cocking his head in typical Barney fashion he adds, "I think she likes you".

A weak laugh, more like a huff really, escapes her lips.

She was looking for an opportunity to get mad and yell at him and somehow it makes her feel violated that she can't do that now. He can't use her work, the things that matter to her and simply proclaim them as his to do with as he pleases, to use for his own benefit and yet it's all for his daughter.

The girl he will never allow to get away, no matter how many times she might run.

Suddenly the tears that have been lingering in the corners of her eyes for days well up.

She inhales deeply to suppress them and then to cover it up she slowly sips her water, but he noticed.

"Hold the baby", he says. While she was drinking he got up and is standing a few steps away from her, on the other side of the counter. Robin shakes her head. She has never held a baby before. Moreover, this child, Barney's child, makes her wonder if she was ever enough. If deep down he didn't want more and if maybe, it's better this way.

Maybe they're better off apart, at a safe distance where they can't hurt each other.

This time he puts more emphasis on the words. "Hold her."

She reluctantly extends her arms and takes Ellie from Barney. Something in the way he says it, in the way he moves, makes it impossible to refuse. Not saying anything she tries to arrange the bundle in a position that feels less awkward, which does not work at all.

"Feel better yet?" Barney asks, intently watching her. And to Robin's utter surprise she does, despite the fact that she is afraid she will drop the baby at any moment.

"My life is not fun anymore", she blurts out.

After a few minutes of silence in which they both look anywhere but at each other, she adds, "I drive too fast, because it's fun. It's awesome. I miss the awesome."

The tiny person in her arms makes a small gurgling sound. Almost by default Robin smiles.

So does Barney. "See? She likes you."

This time the tears are out of her control, they run down her cheeks without restraint. Clumsily fumbling around she manages to hand over Ellie and rushes back to her room.

He calls after her to wait as the door falls into its frame behind her. In his clasp Ellie is crying again, so he turns on the TV and sits down to listen to Robin.

A few days later a package arrives. Inside is a pair of white baby socks with several rows of yellow ducks printed on them. There's no card, no return address. Nevertheless, he understands. He gets that she needs to make this a joke, she needs to laugh about it, because otherwise this might be real and then what?

There's no card, no return address. Just a pair of ducky socks.


	3. Chapter 3

**Finally finished Chapter 3. I hope you like it and please tell me whether or not you did. **

**Also, thank you to everyone following this story; I'm quite excited about it. **

Ignoring the loud chatter of female voices gushing over a child or puppy or something equally adorable and worthy of cooing sounds Robin stirs the coffee in her cup.

There's no point in stirring black coffee really, but she swirls the dark liquid around anyway, staring into the vortex her restless movement forms.

Today the coffee shop is unusually crowded and noisy. Most days people don't start coming in until around eight in the morning, which gives Robin the opportunity to get her coffee early and avoid the flood of grumpy midtown employees and stressed out staff. With the waves of excited chatter and grumpy mumblings crashing over her head she reminds herself to never oversleep again and swirls her coffee a bit harder. After putting a lid on her paper cup she starts manoeuvring through the rather impractically arranged cluster of tables and seats towards the exit.

She makes it through the maze of furniture swiftly. In her head she is already laying out a plan for the coming week when her hand that was automatically reaching for the door handle hits soft flesh. Robin pulls it away immediately, muttering an apology while the woman she accidentally poked turns around in surprise.

Only then does Robin notice that one of the doors is completely blocked by a crowd of women gathered around a single table. They probably are the ones responsible for all the chattering she earlier tried not the get annoyed by.

Now that the woman she poked has moved to the side she can see the man sitting at the table. It's Barney. The man sitting in the glass bottle green velvet seat cradling a child in his arms is Barney Stinson. At the sudden commotion her mishap caused he looks up.

Their eyes meet, but she can't disentangle the cluttered thoughts swerving through his pupils.

Before she has a chance to do anything, say anything, move at all, his palm is placed underneath hers, his thumb pressing against her fingers.

His lips hovering over the back of her hand leave the brief impression of something that might be a shadow of happiness.

The kiss lingering above the back of her hand is like a hollowed out shell of the kisses he used to give her, when the touch of scorching lips on frozen flesh melted her to pieces.

Now he is barely brushing over her skin with his mouth not touching her. Not quite, but almost. It seems empty, devoid of emotion, distant and yet it still burns.

He lifts his eyes and lets go of her hand.

"You have no idea how much we missed you, do you?" he says.

Robin simply stands there, unable to move, unable to think.

She has no idea what is going on. No idea what he is doing, whether this is a play or a lie or something else. Once again she can't seem to catch up fast enough, because apparently every other woman in the coffee shop knows exactly what is going on. The female crowd begins to shuffle about nervously; they are all eyeing her suspiciously.

"I really hate my wife being out of town so often" he adds, smiling at the girl he is holding.

As soon as the word wife leaves his lips all the women huddled around them suddenly excuse themselves and head out the door. Not without scanning Robin's hands, shaking their heads in a disapproving manner and throwing her several murderous looks though. Their angry stares make her cringe. As they exit one by one it finally sinks in.

"You did not just do that. Tell me you did not just do that." she says more exasperated than she meant to.

The corners of his mouth turn upwards. "I did not just do that." The shaking of her head comes automatically; the reflex still ingrained in her body's memory, it's what she always does. Even if they are just mocking each other. It's always the same sequence, the same pattern repeating itself like a broken record.

"So, um, how is your daughter doing?" Robin asks to evade the growing tension. He glances down at Ellie. "She's perfect."

Statements like that are the reason she is not entirely sure the person in front of her is actually Barney. She just assumed the damage done was irreparable, that she had crippled him beyond repair and he would chase hot women his entire life. In a way it had helped. Thinking that he would never love someone as much as her had taken the edge off her pain.

"Um, I should go. Have some stuff to catch up on, so…um…" she says after clearing her throat to get rid of the lump settled there.

"You'd choose work over this adorable face? Unbelievable" he says, pointing at Ellie's head.

"This adorable face?" he repeats, this time circling his index finger around his own face. Robin gives him a pointed stare. He sighs in mock defeat.

"I am in desperate need of some adult company" he adds overly dramatic. She rolls her eyes.

"You mean the overload of adult company that just left wasn't enough? Like, how are you not nailing one of those chicks right now?"

"This adorable face?!" he says, pointing at his daughter again. Despite herself, Robin laughs.

He pulls out the chair next to him and she slowly sinks into the lush material.

By the time she gets up because otherwise she will be late for work her coffee is cold.

She buys another one and while she walks out the door she offers Barney a tentative smile. He is so engrossed with Ellie he doesn't notice. She brushes of the sharp sting of disappointment at his absent reaction and pushes open the door of the coffee shop.

As she steps out onto the sidewalk the wind sweeps up her hair. It's still cold outside and she closes the last button of her blouse, making sure the necklace with her rings on it stays hidden beneath the fabric. For some ridiculous reason she never could get rid of these essentially meaningless symbols. At some point putting them on became a habit and now they serve her as a reminder.

A reminder that sometimes love just isn't enough.


End file.
